What is considered a short/medium/long story?

[iwannadobadthingswithyou]

Hi all.

I'm very new here (just working on my second story) and I was curious what do you guys consider to be a short story, a medium one and a long one? In terms of number of words or number of pages.

Thanks

 

[ElectricBlue]

Hi all.

I'm very new here (just working on my second story) and I was curious what do you guys consider to be a short story, a medium one and a long one? In terms of number of words or number of pages.

Thanks

Here on Lit, I reckon:

Short = 1 - 2 Lit pages = 4k - 8k words
Medium = 3 - 5 pages = 9k - 20k words
Long = 20k words plus (the traditional novella, sliding up into novel territory).

Maybe stretch Medium to 8 Lit pages = 30k words, thereabouts.

There are plenty of standalone "Medium" stories using those break points, anything longer you wander into the "what is the best chapter length?" discussion. And there, a sweet spot is pretty much the same as a Medium length story.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Now you get into, "What constitutes a story?"

Beginning, middle, and end. We all get that, but is it accomplished through multiple published chapters or in a single stand-alone tale? You will see numerous variants published here.

Patiently write the tale that you want to tell, regardless of how long it is. Worry about its size once it is complete.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

There is no real consensus about story length and categorization in that sense.
I generally agree with what EB posted, but many Literotica authors wouldn't. Some think a story can be 750 words long and still be called a short story. I don't agree, but as I said, opinions vary.

 

[ElectricBlue]

There is no real consensus about story length and categorization in that sense.
I generally agree with what EB posted, but many Literotica authors wouldn't. Some think a story can be 750 words long and still be called a short story. I don't agree, but as I said, opinions vary.

I'm with you on that. The 750 words shorts in my lexicon are vignettes. They should be self-contained as a scene, but they're hardly a "story".

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

'Reader's Digest' stories (750s) are fine. None need to be 'War and Peace".


Mine rarely top 6K.

 

[DeMont]

Here on Lit, I reckon:

Short = 1 - 2 Lit pages = 4k - 8k words
Medium = 3 - 5 pages = 9k - 20k words
Long = 20k words plus (the traditional novella, sliding up into novel territory).

Maybe stretch Medium to 8 Lit pages = 30k words, thereabouts.

There are plenty of standalone "Medium" stories using those break points, anything longer you wander into the "what is the best chapter length?" discussion. And there, a sweet spot is pretty much the same as a Medium length story.

@ElectricBlue,
Good evening, I was thinking on this very subject when I came across your post. I have a story, in the final edit stage, that has 8,302 words (final edit pending) spread over 577 lines. It is written in a Microsoft word document and totals 14 pages. How do "Lit Pages" compare to typed Word.doc pages in length? Would that, by the measure applied be considered a "short story" due to word quantity rather than by number of pages?
Respectfully,
D

 

[ElectricBlue]

@ElectricBlue,
Good evening, I was thinking on this very subject when I came across your post. I have a story, in the final edit stage, that has 8,302 words (final edit pending) spread over 577 lines. It is written in a Microsoft word document and totals 14 pages. How do "Lit Pages" compare to typed Word.doc pages in length? Would that, by the measure applied be considered a "short story" due to word quantity rather than by number of pages?
Respectfully,
D

A Lit page is 3750 words plus or minus. So your story would be just over two Lit pages. The actual page count depends on text density to an extent - more dialogue, for example, can push longer. I suspect each page has a maximum character limit, but I've never bothered to figure that out.

What the site does do, is only roll a page break at a paragraph end, never in the middle of a sentence. On occasion, I've had stories with a single sentence on the last page, which is annoying, but I can't do anything about it (unless I pad out past 7500 words, say).

 

[EmilyMiller]

Hi all.

I'm very new here (just working on my second story) and I was curious what do you guys consider to be a short story, a medium one and a long one? In terms of number of words or number of pages.

Thanks

The ISO have not opined on this, but the Miller scale (not fully compatible with the many other such scales) is as follows:

1. 750 words - well kinda obvious
2. 751 - 3,500 words (just about a single Lit page) - vignette
3. 3,500 - 10,000 words - short story
4. 10,001 - 20,000 words - novelette
5. 20,001 - 40,000 words - novella
6. 40,001 - 70,000 words - short novel
7. 70,001+ words - novel

Also not all of the above distinctions are solely about word count. A vignette is a single scene, almost regardless of length. A novel tracks an extended period in the protagonist’s life and tends to involve a wider set of characters. And so on… But treat the above as a rule of thumb.

 

[DeMont]

@ElectricBlue and @EmilyMiller,
Awesome... thanks folks. That'll help me decide when "enough is enough", always bearing in mind, of course,that as I have mentioned previously, a story tells itself and it takes as long as needed to do that.
Deepest respects,
D.

 

[Comshaw]

I'm with you on that. The 750 words shorts in my lexicon are vignettes. They should be self-contained as a scene, but they're hardly a "story".

I must needs disagree. The ones I've read and the ones I wrote are all "stories" and meet all of the requirements for one.

A story requires 5 elements: characters, plot, setting, conflict and resolution. Since I don't think it fair to use anyone else's 750-word story without permission I'll use mine as an example: A Game of Poker, or Try to Pokeher?

Characters: there are two in this story, a boy and a girl.
Plot: a simple one, it's a game of strip poker
Setting: a room and a deck of cards
Conflict: Again a simple conflict, the boy wants to get the girls clothes off and she is apparently hesitant to loose them.
Resolution: In the end the boy gets what he wants, but so does the girl

It doesn't matter how simple all those elements are or how sparcely they are fleshed out. As long as all 5 are present it's a story, not a vignette.

To illustrate that here's a 100 word story I wrote as an exercise years ago called "Fishing Lessons":

When I was twelve our neighbor, who knew everything, decided he would teach me the correct way to catch fish.

"Come Saturday I'll take you to the lake, show you how it's really done," he said.

Saturday morning we drove to the lake, launched the boat, tied it to a cleat, moved the truck to the parking area and walked back to the dock.

"Your first lesson," he said, "is how to put the drain plug in a half submerged boat and bail out the water after."

We bailed the boat, then motored to the middle of the lake.

"Now observe; I will demonstrate the fine art of fly casting."

This as he made several false casts, feeding out line in a smooth motion. My eyes were on the water, waiting for the sight of a Royal Coachman fly touching down gently upon the surface, when the line slapped down in a tangle. A long string of profanities followed.

"Your next lesson is how to remove a Royal Coachman, imbedded in an ear, without harming either," he said.

After the lesson on hook removal, with a quick exercise on the application of disinfectant and Band-Aids to a torn, bleeding ear, we continued fishing. After sunset we motored back to the launch. When we arrived he backed the trailer to the ramp.

"Now I will show you how to quick-load a boat, by driving it on the trailer," he said, firing up the boat motor.

On the way home he said, "Come over to my house tomorrow; I'll show you how to repair a bent propeller."

When I walked into the house, my father asked if I had learned anything about the correct way to be a fisherman.

"Yes, I did," was my answer.


If you read through the above you will find all 5 elements of a story contained in it. Even though it is only 100 words, it is a complete story.


Comshaw

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

All of the 750s in the last event were full stories.

 

[NightPorter]

I usually go 8-15k per publication. That might be a stand alone story or a part (chapter) of a longer work.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I must needs disagree. The ones I've read and the ones I wrote are all "stories" and meet all of the requirements for one.

A story requires 5 elements: characters, plot, setting, conflict and resolution.

I did say my 750 word pieces. I don't consider them "stories" by your definition, since they usually have no conflict, no resolution as such. They're mood pieces. My most recent one, for example (not published yet) is me in a room, contemplative. It's evocative of place, but there's no plot, and explicitly, no resolution. If anything, it's a preamble.

It's parsing words, for sure - but it's why I call my short pieces "vignettes", because they don't need the heavy freight of being a "story".

 

[AlexBailey]

750 word stories are often referred to as ‘flash fiction’. That term is apparently fairly common and can sometimes include up to 1500 words, often defined within the rules for writing contests and events.

 

[MillieDynamite]

A+, @AlexBailey.

750 word stories are often referred to as ‘flash fiction’. That term is apparently fairly common and can sometimes include up to 1500 words, often defined within the rules for writing contests and events.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

What about a 750 featuring a flasher?

 

[Comshaw]

I did say my 750 word pieces. I don't consider them "stories" by your definition, since they usually have no conflict, no resolution as such. They're mood pieces. My most recent one, for example (not published yet) is me in a room, contemplative. It's evocative of place, but there's no plot, and explicitly, no resolution. If anything, it's a preamble.

It's parsing words, for sure - but it's why I call my short pieces "vignettes", because they don't need the heavy freight of being a "story".

If you were talking about only your 750 word pieces, cool. I understand. But you didn't specify that. What you said is this: "The 750 words shorts in my lexicon are vignettes."

That is why I was confused and took it to mean all 750 word entries. Confusing me BTW isn't something to be proud of, 'cause putting me in a round room and telling me to pee in a corner would confuse me no end.

Comshaw